Rolleiflex Repair Woes

A couple of years ago, I purchased a 1950s Rolleiflex 3.5 Tessar that was sharp, but dim, so I took it to Krikor Maralian to have a new Maxwell screen installed. He installed the screen and "adjusted the focus" and returned it to me. The resulting photographs were not sharp and I returned the camera to Krikor 5 times (I drove to his shop, about 1.5 hours). He was unable fix the camera's focus problem, suggested some cameras "cannot be repaired" and refused to refund 100% of the Maxwell screen price because the screen was now "used". I had previously purchased a 2.8 Planar model from Krikor that continues to work great, so I was surprised and disappointed that he could not repair my camera and chose instead to lose a good customer for the sake of the the cost of a Maxwell screen. I kept the screen, still have the camera that I do not use, and will never again send a camera to Krikor.

Buyer beware, I guess....

Originally Posted by Nick Merritt

Where are you located? Krikor Maralian (krimarphoto.com) is great, and very fast -- I mean you will have it back within a week from when you send it. I have had several Rolleis serviced by him. He's in New Jersey, USA.

I know how you feel, though -- now you have to spend a fair amount of extra money on a camera you thought was in perfect shape. Very discouraging.